Featured Mentor: Bill Meissner
We are excited to announce our featured mentor of the week: Bill Meissner! Minnesota writer and teacher, Bill Meissner is the author of twelve books. His third novel, The Wonders of the Little World, a carnival-theme family drama, will be published in January, 2024 by Stephen F. Austin State University Press/Texas A & M University Press. His previous novels are Summer of Rain, Summer of Fire, a novel set in the protest days of the Vietnam War (Stephen F. Austin State University Press/Texas A & M Univ. Press), and Spirits in the Grass (University of Notre Dame Press), which won the Midwest Book Award.
His five collections of poetry include American Compass (U. of Notre Dame Press), Learning to Breathe Underwater and The Sleepwalker’s Son (Ohio U. Press) and Twin Sons of Different Mirrors (Milkweed Editions). His latest book of poetry is The Mapmaker’s Dream (Finishing Line Press, 2019). His three books of short stories are Light at the Edge of the Field, a collection of baseball-theme short stories (Stephen F. Austin State University Press), Hitting into the Wind (Random House Publishers/SMU Press Paperback/Dzanc Press ebook) and The Road to Cosmos (University of Notre Dame Press). His book which features baseball photography and writing, is Circling Toward Home: Grassroots Baseball Prose, Mediations, and Images (Finishing Line Press).
Bill’s hobbies and interests include travel (especially to tropical locations), rock music, baseball, photography, pulp fiction magazines, and collecting vintage typewriters. He has taught creative writing at St. Cloud State University and frequently presents workshops at local elementary schools, high schools, and colleges as a visiting writer. He lives in St. Cloud with his wife, Christine.
Bill spoke eloquently about his involvement in the program, “What excites me most about the mentorship program is the opportunity to see a student's writing in progress and then to watch it grow and expand and improve. Grains of sand become beaches which become whole islands filled with lush trees,” He said. “Unique and creative words, placed in the right order, are a wonderful way to communicate. They can make us see and hear and taste and touch the world in ways we hadn't discovered before. Besides that, those words enable the world to discover our inner thoughts as well. And that's a rewarding and beautiful thing.”
When asked about his favorite recent read, he gave a few answers: White Oleander, a novel by Janet Fitch, and any James Wright or William Stafford poetry collections.
Click here to sign up for a mentorship from Bill!
Click here to check out Bill’s collection of baseball-themed short stories, Hitting into the Wind.